supernatural 8x01 and 8x02, and other tv, and other things
1. ... hi again. *waves* wow, this month I've been the worst at updating. *sigh* well, I'm giving you bullet points.
a) University has started again. I have sort-of-decent-classes, except for the ones that I have to study for without attending. Also I should manage to do my masters thesis with the person I want, but there's some bureaucracy drama going on over there and seriously, it's been five and a half years and I'm *still* headdesking over bureaucracy.
b) Random advice from yours truly: never put iodine tincture on you if you can help it. Long story short, I put some on my shoulder to relieve myself from mosquito-related swelling and I practically burned a hole into my skin. That happened two weeks ago. I still can't go out without gauze over it. /o\ seriously, don't ever do it.
c) I have tickets to see Gaslight Anthem in Milan! \o/ I'm so excited about it, you don't even know. \o/
d) My granddad is doing decently, or at least more decently than I thought, so at least there's that. *crosses fingers*
e) I have the new Chabon book. I'm not much far into it yet, but it's about two guys working in A USED RECORD SHOP. Needless to say that the moment I read the synopsis I was very much pleased.
2) So, TV that isn't SPN. Have all bullet points - nothing will be spoilers.
Boardwalk Empire: Richard and Van Alden are (the last one surprisingly) the best thing about this season yet. Nucky is seriously starting to scare me. Margaret has gotten slightly better since last season's fail. I appreciate that the Italian people actually sound Italian. Needs more Chalky overall. Gillian keeps on majorly creeping me out and Richard is still the best person in that bunch.
H50: the premiere was meh, also because they were seriously pushing the 'let's write shit that couldn't possibly happen according to the laws of physics' - also people need to stop dump all the angst on Chin. The second episode - I watched it the evening when I finished The Wire. Suffices to say that I totally don't remember what happened. The last one was actually delightful, also because finally they went back to the S1 formula. Can it be like that always? Thanks. Anyway, as things are whenever Danny or Chin aren't on screen I tend to tune out. :/
And a shout out to the vampire porn, which is back today and which will undoubtedly make my Friday a lot better than it is right now.
Anyway, the sad thing is that (with SPN's exception, but more on that in the next point) everything I'm watching lately seems either sub-par or just *not good enough* because I keep comparing it with The Wire, which is obviously not very smart of me since a few things can compare to it in the first place.
3. Okay, let's talk about SPN. I wanted to make a post about the premiere but I obviously didn't because a) I was too lazy, b) last week this time I was too busy trying to figure out what to do about the iodine-induced burn on my shoulder (with pitiful results) and in the end I didn't manage. So, under there there's rambling about both the premiere and the second episode.
a) SHOULD WE TALK ABOUT THE FLASHBACK IN EPISODE 2 -
Okay no. If I start on *that* now I won't discuss anything else. Therefore, less-important-stuff first.
b) So, Jeremy Carver, you >>>>> the world. Two episodes and I already like this season better than S7, which says all, but seriously. Decent writing. THEY'RE NOT HANDWAVING DEAN'S PTSD ISSUES. That enough would have been awesome, but they're also acknowledging Cas, they're not wasting time with fillers (yet) and they're having an interesting plot. YESSS.
c) Crowley, let me love you forever. The end.
d) I'm in awe of how they're dealing with Dean, actually. After the continuous handwaving of his issues last season (and the fact that no one acknowledged the state of his liver) it's actually good to see that someone did some research and is *not* making him behave like he's fine. And I love that they're doing the Purgatory flashbacks as triggered PTSD flashbacks. And stuff like that scene where he couldn't pick his snack in the premiere - YES. Thank you show.
e) I was kind of disappointed that Sam didn't bother looking for Dean but then again from his side it sorta maybe made sense. Also: Sam's hair is - I can't. It CHANGES at random INSIDE THE SAME EPISODE FROM SCENE TO SCENE. I can't. Cut it.
d) About the new people: can we keep Kevin and his mom forever? They're cool. Thank you. Other than them: the new angel (was that Samandriel?) looks interesting. They can stay, though please pick a vessel without that uniform. At least it's nice to know someone in heaven gives a shit about Cas *cough*. The gods at the auction in 8.02 were all hilarious and lol at Odin.
About Benny: I'm pretty neutral about the dude right now - I mean, I'm not in love with his face but I don't hate him either, but I *could* get behind him. Mostly, I do realize that since S6/S7 have managed to kill off EVERY SINGLE SUPPORTING CHARACTER EVER except for Cas WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD UNTIL 7.17, they do need some new blood. And while this dude seems like the least interesting version of Balthazar (well, I was like OMG ILU when Balthy showed up first, with him I'm nowhere near there yet), if he ends up turning like that - ie not exactly straight morals but interests in the right place - I can get behind it. Also, I've been advocating that Dean and/or Sam are allowed to have relationships outside themselves for ages and I've spent ages hoping that Dean would fucking get over his 'all supernatural creatures [that aren't Cas] ARE ALL EVIL AND SHOULD DIE', so if he's friends with the dude and the dude doesn't stab him in the back he can stay as far as I'm concerned. Especially because he totally doesn't threaten my ship at all from what I've seen *cough* yeah okay whatever. Still, I wish he was as awesome as Balthy was. D:
f) People, CAN WE TALK ABOUT SAM USING THOR'S HAMMER? ABOUT SAM BEING WORTHY OF MJOLNIR? ABOUT SAM HITTING ODIN WITH IT? ABOUT ODIN BEING LIKE 'OH HI BABY' AND SNUGGLING WITH IT? SERIOUSLY, WHERE ARE THE CROSSOVERS WHERE THOR SHOWS UP? Please, I need some. That was the funniest shit SPN has pulled in since - SINCE FRONTIERLAND PROBABLY. No but - Sam using Mjolnir. I'm nowhere near over it.
g) *deep breath*
NO OKAY PEOPLE
DEAN AND CASTIEL. LET'S JUST. TALK ABOUT IT. I'M STILL EMOTIONALLY DEVASTATED FROM THE ENTIRE THING BUT SERIOUSLY, CARVER & CO, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO GIVE ME EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED IN TWO MINUTES AT ONCE.
I JUST - DEAN HUGGED HIM ADKASGDKADGFHKJADFGDHJGFDSFDHJSFGDHJSFGHDSJGFHJDSGFJHDSGFJSDHGFHJGDSJHFGJHSDGFHDJSGFHSJGFJHGSDFHJS. IT TOOK PURGATORY FOR DEAN TO HUG HIM. WELL THANK FUCK IT HAPPENED. AND HE TOUCHED HIS FACE AND TOLD CAS THAT HE NEEDED HIM AND ASKFHSDJKFHJKDSHFKJDSHFKJSDHJSDKHFKJDSHFJKSFDHJ.
(SORRY BUT CAPSLOCK ISN'T GETTING TURNED OFF)
ALSO: CAS TELLING HIM THAT HE WAS KEEPING A DISTANCE BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT DEAN TO GET HURT AND DEAN TELLING HIM HE WASN'T GOING TO LEAVE WITHOUT HIM JKDFHSDKFHKSDJFGHDKSJGFSHKG AND BEING ACTUALLY LIKE 'WELL IF THE WAY OUT ISN'T ANGEL PROOF WE'LL FIND A WAY AROUND IT' AND *WANTING* CAS TO GO WITH AND SDIUFHSDUIHGUKSDGIUDSGIDUSGFIUDSGFIYSDG. I'VE BEEN WANTING TO SEE THAT SINCE FOREVER OKAY. AND DEAN TOUCHING CAS'S FACE AND DEAN BEING SO SET ON FINDING HIM AND CAS BEING FINE AND ACTUALLY HE GREW SOME PRETTY DAMN NICE SARCASM AND WEARING THAT TRENCH AND THE BRACELET FROM THE ASYLUM OMG ;__________; AND THE *HUG* I CAN'T. I CAN'T GET OVER IT OKAY. DBFKSDGFHSDGKHFGHKDS. (also lol at Dean being like 'hey Cas SEE I MADE A FRIEND LET ME INTRODUCE' and wanting them to get along probably - oh god that's gold fic material if we go down the jealousy route xDDDDDDDDDD)
AND CAS'S FACE AT THE END AND DEAN'S FACE WHEN HE THINKS ABOUT IT ASDHJKASDHFKJSDFHSDKJHGKDSHFGKJDGFKJSDGFKJDSGKHFJKAFHJ NO SERIOUSLY CAN I CRY FOREVER SAJFDKJGFKSDGFFSHJDG.
Also: I had forgotten to state that I don't buy for one second that Cas is dead. Something probably went wrong when they tried to leave (Dean was holding Cas's hand in the last frame right?) and Dean probably saw exploding light or maybe they were being chased by some leviathan and he assumed that Cas was dead, but *didn't make it* isn't the same thing as *I saw him die in front of me and actually MADE SURE HE WAS DEAD*, so I'm just waiting to see how it turns out that Dean raises Cas from half-perdition *cough*. YES THAT'S TOTALLY HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO GO NO ONE CONVINCES ME OTHERWISE UNTIL I SEE OTHERWISE. AND DEAN SAYING 'I PRAYED TO YOU EVERY SECOND' AND CAS BEING LIKE 'YES I KNOW' WITH THE PAINED FACE
Phew. That's the most incoherent review I've ever done, methinks.
4. In other news, the new LJ posting interface (the one in beta) is fugly. Can I hope it can be opted out from, when it's time? Because I don't want buttons to help me with my html. :/
5. And with that I'll probably go have another emotional breakdown while I rewatch that certain part of the latest SPN ep discussed above. I still can't believe that happened.
a) University has started again. I have sort-of-decent-classes, except for the ones that I have to study for without attending. Also I should manage to do my masters thesis with the person I want, but there's some bureaucracy drama going on over there and seriously, it's been five and a half years and I'm *still* headdesking over bureaucracy.
b) Random advice from yours truly: never put iodine tincture on you if you can help it. Long story short, I put some on my shoulder to relieve myself from mosquito-related swelling and I practically burned a hole into my skin. That happened two weeks ago. I still can't go out without gauze over it. /o\ seriously, don't ever do it.
c) I have tickets to see Gaslight Anthem in Milan! \o/ I'm so excited about it, you don't even know. \o/
d) My granddad is doing decently, or at least more decently than I thought, so at least there's that. *crosses fingers*
e) I have the new Chabon book. I'm not much far into it yet, but it's about two guys working in A USED RECORD SHOP. Needless to say that the moment I read the synopsis I was very much pleased.
2) So, TV that isn't SPN. Have all bullet points - nothing will be spoilers.
Boardwalk Empire: Richard and Van Alden are (the last one surprisingly) the best thing about this season yet. Nucky is seriously starting to scare me. Margaret has gotten slightly better since last season's fail. I appreciate that the Italian people actually sound Italian. Needs more Chalky overall. Gillian keeps on majorly creeping me out and Richard is still the best person in that bunch.
H50: the premiere was meh, also because they were seriously pushing the 'let's write shit that couldn't possibly happen according to the laws of physics' - also people need to stop dump all the angst on Chin. The second episode - I watched it the evening when I finished The Wire. Suffices to say that I totally don't remember what happened. The last one was actually delightful, also because finally they went back to the S1 formula. Can it be like that always? Thanks. Anyway, as things are whenever Danny or Chin aren't on screen I tend to tune out. :/
And a shout out to the vampire porn, which is back today and which will undoubtedly make my Friday a lot better than it is right now.
Anyway, the sad thing is that (with SPN's exception, but more on that in the next point) everything I'm watching lately seems either sub-par or just *not good enough* because I keep comparing it with The Wire, which is obviously not very smart of me since a few things can compare to it in the first place.
3. Okay, let's talk about SPN. I wanted to make a post about the premiere but I obviously didn't because a) I was too lazy, b) last week this time I was too busy trying to figure out what to do about the iodine-induced burn on my shoulder (with pitiful results) and in the end I didn't manage. So, under there there's rambling about both the premiere and the second episode.
a) SHOULD WE TALK ABOUT THE FLASHBACK IN EPISODE 2 -
Okay no. If I start on *that* now I won't discuss anything else. Therefore, less-important-stuff first.
b) So, Jeremy Carver, you >>>>> the world. Two episodes and I already like this season better than S7, which says all, but seriously. Decent writing. THEY'RE NOT HANDWAVING DEAN'S PTSD ISSUES. That enough would have been awesome, but they're also acknowledging Cas, they're not wasting time with fillers (yet) and they're having an interesting plot. YESSS.
c) Crowley, let me love you forever. The end.
d) I'm in awe of how they're dealing with Dean, actually. After the continuous handwaving of his issues last season (and the fact that no one acknowledged the state of his liver) it's actually good to see that someone did some research and is *not* making him behave like he's fine. And I love that they're doing the Purgatory flashbacks as triggered PTSD flashbacks. And stuff like that scene where he couldn't pick his snack in the premiere - YES. Thank you show.
e) I was kind of disappointed that Sam didn't bother looking for Dean but then again from his side it sorta maybe made sense. Also: Sam's hair is - I can't. It CHANGES at random INSIDE THE SAME EPISODE FROM SCENE TO SCENE. I can't. Cut it.
d) About the new people: can we keep Kevin and his mom forever? They're cool. Thank you. Other than them: the new angel (was that Samandriel?) looks interesting. They can stay, though please pick a vessel without that uniform. At least it's nice to know someone in heaven gives a shit about Cas *cough*. The gods at the auction in 8.02 were all hilarious and lol at Odin.
About Benny: I'm pretty neutral about the dude right now - I mean, I'm not in love with his face but I don't hate him either, but I *could* get behind him. Mostly, I do realize that since S6/S7 have managed to kill off EVERY SINGLE SUPPORTING CHARACTER EVER except for Cas WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD UNTIL 7.17, they do need some new blood. And while this dude seems like the least interesting version of Balthazar (well, I was like OMG ILU when Balthy showed up first, with him I'm nowhere near there yet), if he ends up turning like that - ie not exactly straight morals but interests in the right place - I can get behind it. Also, I've been advocating that Dean and/or Sam are allowed to have relationships outside themselves for ages and I've spent ages hoping that Dean would fucking get over his 'all supernatural creatures [that aren't Cas] ARE ALL EVIL AND SHOULD DIE', so if he's friends with the dude and the dude doesn't stab him in the back he can stay as far as I'm concerned. Especially because he totally doesn't threaten my ship at all from what I've seen *cough* yeah okay whatever. Still, I wish he was as awesome as Balthy was. D:
f) People, CAN WE TALK ABOUT SAM USING THOR'S HAMMER? ABOUT SAM BEING WORTHY OF MJOLNIR? ABOUT SAM HITTING ODIN WITH IT? ABOUT ODIN BEING LIKE 'OH HI BABY' AND SNUGGLING WITH IT? SERIOUSLY, WHERE ARE THE CROSSOVERS WHERE THOR SHOWS UP? Please, I need some. That was the funniest shit SPN has pulled in since - SINCE FRONTIERLAND PROBABLY. No but - Sam using Mjolnir. I'm nowhere near over it.
g) *deep breath*
NO OKAY PEOPLE
DEAN AND CASTIEL. LET'S JUST. TALK ABOUT IT. I'M STILL EMOTIONALLY DEVASTATED FROM THE ENTIRE THING BUT SERIOUSLY, CARVER & CO, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO GIVE ME EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED IN TWO MINUTES AT ONCE.
I JUST - DEAN HUGGED HIM ADKASGDKADGFHKJADFGDHJGFDSFDHJSFGDHJSFGHDSJGFHJDSGFJHDSGFJSDHGFHJGDSJHFGJHSDGFHDJSGFHSJGFJHGSDFHJS. IT TOOK PURGATORY FOR DEAN TO HUG HIM. WELL THANK FUCK IT HAPPENED. AND HE TOUCHED HIS FACE AND TOLD CAS THAT HE NEEDED HIM AND ASKFHSDJKFHJKDSHFKJDSHFKJSDHJSDKHFKJDSHFJKSFDHJ.
(SORRY BUT CAPSLOCK ISN'T GETTING TURNED OFF)
ALSO: CAS TELLING HIM THAT HE WAS KEEPING A DISTANCE BECAUSE HE DIDN'T WANT DEAN TO GET HURT AND DEAN TELLING HIM HE WASN'T GOING TO LEAVE WITHOUT HIM JKDFHSDKFHKSDJFGHDKSJGFSHKG AND BEING ACTUALLY LIKE 'WELL IF THE WAY OUT ISN'T ANGEL PROOF WE'LL FIND A WAY AROUND IT' AND *WANTING* CAS TO GO WITH AND SDIUFHSDUIHGUKSDGIUDSGIDUSGFIUDSGFIYSDG. I'VE BEEN WANTING TO SEE THAT SINCE FOREVER OKAY. AND DEAN TOUCHING CAS'S FACE AND DEAN BEING SO SET ON FINDING HIM AND CAS BEING FINE AND ACTUALLY HE GREW SOME PRETTY DAMN NICE SARCASM AND WEARING THAT TRENCH AND THE BRACELET FROM THE ASYLUM OMG ;__________; AND THE *HUG* I CAN'T. I CAN'T GET OVER IT OKAY. DBFKSDGFHSDGKHFGHKDS. (also lol at Dean being like 'hey Cas SEE I MADE A FRIEND LET ME INTRODUCE' and wanting them to get along probably - oh god that's gold fic material if we go down the jealousy route xDDDDDDDDDD)
AND CAS'S FACE AT THE END AND DEAN'S FACE WHEN HE THINKS ABOUT IT ASDHJKASDHFKJSDFHSDKJHGKDSHFGKJDGFKJSDGFKJDSGKHFJKAFHJ NO SERIOUSLY CAN I CRY FOREVER SAJFDKJGFKSDGFFSHJDG.
Also: I had forgotten to state that I don't buy for one second that Cas is dead. Something probably went wrong when they tried to leave (Dean was holding Cas's hand in the last frame right?) and Dean probably saw exploding light or maybe they were being chased by some leviathan and he assumed that Cas was dead, but *didn't make it* isn't the same thing as *I saw him die in front of me and actually MADE SURE HE WAS DEAD*, so I'm just waiting to see how it turns out that Dean raises Cas from half-perdition *cough*. YES THAT'S TOTALLY HOW IT'S SUPPOSED TO GO NO ONE CONVINCES ME OTHERWISE UNTIL I SEE OTHERWISE. AND DEAN SAYING 'I PRAYED TO YOU EVERY SECOND' AND CAS BEING LIKE 'YES I KNOW' WITH THE PAINED FACE
Phew. That's the most incoherent review I've ever done, methinks.
4. In other news, the new LJ posting interface (the one in beta) is fugly. Can I hope it can be opted out from, when it's time? Because I don't want buttons to help me with my html. :/
5. And with that I'll probably go have another emotional breakdown while I rewatch that certain part of the latest SPN ep discussed above. I still can't believe that happened.